Japanese Castle Trek：日本の城トレッキング

城区分：山城

The kind: Yama-shiro.

標高338メートルの急峻な金華山頂に、三層の天守閣がそびえている。日本一標高の高い山城、岐阜城。鎌倉時代ここに初めて城が築かれてから800年、激動の歴史をすべて眺めてきたようだ。1201（建仁元）年、鎌倉幕府の政所執事、二階堂山城守行政が幕府の軍事目的のために築城したといわれている。東海道や東山道、交通の要所であり、山麓を流れる長良川は天然の要塞を形成している。行政以後、佐藤朝光、伊賀光宗が城主となり、稲葉光資の時、稲葉山城と名付けている。室町時代、美濃の地は守護大名土岐氏が支配し、家老の斎藤利永が長く廃城になっていた稲葉山城を修築し居城とした。

• 「美濃のまむし」斎藤道三
  室町末期、長井新九郎は一介の油商人として美濃に入り、知略謀略をつくし美濃一国の主にまでのし上がった。稲葉山城入城は土岐氏の家老長井長弘を謀殺し、美濃支配の実権を握ってからである。また、入城時に名を長井新九郎から斎藤利政に改めた。彼は城を修築し、城下町井ノ口を営んだ。稲葉山城に井ノ口城の名があるのはこのためである。さらに野望を逞しくし、主君の土岐頼芸を美濃から追放して、国盗りを完成する。これがNHK大河ドラマ「国盗り物語」（原作：司馬遼太郎）で有名になった、斎藤道三の前半生である。しかし、近年発見された南近江大名六角承禎書状から、この部分は道三の父といわれている、長井新左衛門尉であることがわかっている。
  1549（天文18）年、道三は城を大幅に修築。天守閣も築いて戦国大名の居城にふさわしい堅固な城とする。その後、稲葉山城を義龍に譲り鷺山城に隠居するが、1556（弘治2）年、継嗣問題で義龍と兵を交えあえなく殺されてしまう。その義龍も5年後の1561（永禄4）年、病死し、その子龍興が14歳で後を継ぐ。龍興は人望のない主君だったらしく、1564（永禄7）年、竹中半兵衛重治により一時、稲葉山城を乗っ取られている。龍興の側近らの日頃の横暴を腹に据えかねた半兵衛が、龍興らを城から追い出した事件だが、半兵衛は事がすむと伊吹山麓に隠棲し、城を龍興に返している。
• 「天下布武の城」織田信長
  道三の娘、帰蝶（濃姫）を妻に持つ尾張の織田信長は、龍興が斎藤家を継いだ1561（永禄4）年以来、美濃侵攻を企てたが、美濃三人衆といわれた斎藤方の重臣稲葉良通、安藤守就、氏家直元が信長に寝返ったのを機に、1567（永禄10）年8月、稲葉山城に攻め込んだ。木下藤吉郎が蜂須賀子六らと共にごつごつした固く鋭い岩や絶壁を登り、城の搦手に忍び込んだのであった。信長は居城を尾張の小牧山城から稲葉山城に移し、城下町の井ノ口を岐阜と改め、城も岐阜城とした。岐の文字は「周の文王、岐山より起こり天下を定む」という中国の故事からとったもので、阜は孔子の生まれた文教の都・曲阜から。武の都「岐山」と文の都「曲阜」を合わせたもの。信長の天下統一の決意が伺える。
  1576（天正4）年、ほぼ天下統一を成し遂げた信長は、新たに築いた琵琶湖畔の安土城へ移り、岐阜城は信忠が城主となり、父信長の後を継いで岐阜の繁栄に尽くす。しかし、1582（天正10）年、本能寺の変で信長、信忠が明智光秀に討ち取られたため、信長の三男神戸信孝が岐阜城主となった。
  信孝は信長の跡目相続が失敗に終わり、1583（天正11）年、羽柴秀吉の軍門に降り自害した。その後1585（天正13）年に池田輝政、1591（天正19）年に羽柴秀勝、1592（文禄元）年に織田秀信が相次いで岐阜城城主となった。 1600（慶長5）年、関ヶ原の合戦で西軍に付いた秀信は、東軍の福島正則らの大軍に攻められ降伏。その後、岐阜城に城主はなくなり、徳川家康の命令で翌年廃城となり、取り壊された築材は加納城に移された。戦国の歴史に終止符が打たれたのである。
  江戸時代には城郭はなく、1910（明治43）年、日本で初めての復興天守として建築されたが、1943（昭和18）年に焼失。岐阜市近辺の村や町から、金華山頂で燃え盛るのが見えたという。自分の父もその光景を目撃している。この年代の人は、明治の復興天守のことはあまり知らず、信長の岐阜城が焼けたのだと思ったという。現在の岐阜城天守にその当時の復興天守の写真が残っている。1956（昭和31）年、現在の天守が再建され、1997（平成9）年には再建以来の大改修を受け、美しい天守として金華山頂にそびえている。

he Gifu castle is establishing Tensyu-Kaku of three layers in the steep Kinka-Zan summit of the mountain with an altitude of 338m. It is located in the place where the No.1 altitude of Japan is high as a castle. It seems that it has looked at all tumultuous histories for 800 years after a castle is built by this place for the first time at the Kamakura period. Nikaido Yamashiro no kami Yukimasa of Kamakura Bakufu is said that it built the castle for military purposes in 1201. It is the key point of traffic, such as Tokai-do and Tosen-do, here. The natural fort in river Nagara-gawa which flows the foot of a mountain is formed. After Yukimasa, Sato Motomistu and Iga Mistumune serve as a daimyo with a castle, and have named Inabayama-Jo at the time of Inaba Mistusuke. Muromachi time. Mino -- protection -- a daimyo -- Mr. Toki ruled over, Inabayama-Jo from which Saito Toshinaga of Karo had become ruins for a long time was fixed, and it considered as the castle where a feudal lord usually resides.

• "Mamushiof Mino" Saito Dosan.
  As a mere oil merchant, the Muromachi last stage and Nagai Shinkuro went into Mino, attached the plot, and rose in the world even to the Lord of one country of Mino. It is after Inabayama-Jo entry into a castle murders Karo Nagai Nagahiro of Mr.Toki and grasps the real power of the Mino rule. Moreover, the name was changed into Saito Toshimasa from Nagai Shinkuro at the time of entry into a castle. He fixed the castle and performed castle town Inokuchi. It is for this that the name of Inokuchi-Jo is in Inabayama-Jo. Furthermore, ambition is made brawny, the Lord's Toki Yorinori is beauty warm banished, and taking over of a country is completed. This is the first half of its life of Saito Dosan which became famous for NHK TV saga "Kunitori-Monogatari" (original:Shiba Ryotaro). However, as for this portion, South Omi Daimyo Rokkaku Syotei Syojo discovered in recent years shows that it is Nagai Shinzaemon-no-jo called father of Dosan. Dosan will fix a castle sharply in 1549. the Warring States -- Tensyu-Kaku was also built in order to consider as a strong castle suitable to a daimyo's castle where a feudal lord usually resides Then, although this is yielded to Yoshitastu and it retires to Sagiyama-Jo, it fights with Yoshitastu, does not dress with a succession problem, and will be killed on it, in 1556. The Yoshitastu also dies of an illness and the child Tastuoki will inherit the back for it at the age of 14 in 1561 five years after. Tastuoki is having Inabayama-Jo captured by 1564 and Takenaka Hanbe Shigenao which are spread when it is unpopular Tsukasa temporarily. Although Hanbe which got angry to the daily deed of the close attendants of Tastuoki is the incident which expelled Tastuoki and others from the castle, if things end, Hanbe lived in seclusion in the Ibuki-yama foot and has returned the castle to Tastuoki.
• "Castle of scaffold for Japanese unification" Oda Nobunaga
  Although the daughter of Dosan and Oda Nobunaga of Owari which has Kicho (Nou-Hime) in a wife planned the Mino invasion since 1561 when Tatuoki inherited the Saito house, they invaded Inabayama-Jo in August, 1567 on Saito's ally Inaba Yoshiyuki called Mino San-Ninsyu, Ando Morinari, and Ujiie Naomoto going over to Nobunaga. Kinoshita Tokichiro reached hard and sharp the rock and cliff which were rough with Hachisuka Koroku et al., and stole into the castle. Nobunaga moved the castle where a feudal lord usually resides to Inabayama-Jo from Komakiyama-Jo of Owari, changed Inokuchi of a castle town with Gifu, and also used the castle as the Gifu castle. Nobunaga who finished world unification mostly will move to newly built Azuchi-Jo by Lake Biwa in 1576, and Nobunaga's son Nobutada becomes a daimyo with a castle, inherits the father back, and renders the Gifu castle to prosperity of Gifu. However, since Nobutada was arrested by Akechi Mistuhide with Nobunaga by the Honnoji Incident in 1582, the third son Kanbe Nobutaka of Nobunaga became the Gifu daimyo with a castle. Nobunaga's succession to a house fails in Nobutaka. He was torn and killed in the army of Hashiba Hideyoshi in 1583. Ikeda Mistumasa will become a daimyo with a castle after that 1585. Hashiba Hidekastu was set to 1591 with the daimyo with a castle, and Oda Hidenobu became the Gifu castle daimyo with a castle at the next year. Hidenobu attached to Sei-Gun by the battle of Sekigahara is attacked by the large force of Fukushima Masanori et al. of To-Gun, and will surrender to it in 1600. Then, the daimyo with a castle died to the Gifu castle, it was pulled down by the command of Tokugawa Ieyasu next year, and scrap wood was moved to Kano-Jo. An end came to the history of the Warring States. A fortress does not exist in the Edo period. Although built as first replica castle in Japan in 1910, it will be burned down in 1943. It is said that it could be seen from the village and town of the Gifu neighborhood to burn vigorously at the Kinka-Zan summit of the mountain. My father has also witnessed the spectacle. The man of this age says that he thought that not knowing and Nobunaga's Gifu castle were able to burn the thing of the replica of Meiji not much. The photograph of the replica of those days remains in the present Gifu castle Tensyu. Tensyu was built again in 1956. It is the castle which can be seen now. The large repair since reconstruction was received in 1997, and it rises high over the Kinka-Zan summit of the mountain as beautiful Tensyu.